The Ladies of Latin Jazz celebrate Perth’s vibrant musical melting pot with a picnic concert at UWA St. George’s College Quadrangle

Latin jazz chanteuses Brenda Lee and Juliana Areias will perform together with the cream of Western Australia’s jazz instrumentalists on Saturday, 3rd December. The event is supported by cultural sponsorship from the European Union.

PERTH, November, 2016 – They have come from different corners of the world to meet in Perth and share their love for Latin jazz and their common Portuguese cultural heritage. Brenda Lee grew up in Malacca and moved to Perth in her early teens. Brazilian singer Juliana Areias has been performing overseas for the past

twenty years and decided to call Perth home in 2007.

_ We were both invited by Fremantle musician Mike Burns to perform at the World Portuguese Music Festival “6 Continentes”. It was then that I first heard Brenda singing in Cristao Portuguese from Malacca and I was enchanted by her performance. – said Juliana Areias.

_ I’ve always loved bossa nova and thought that it would be great to perform with Juliana, the Bossa Nova Baby. We are excited to present this open-air, picnic style concert in the beautiful grounds of Perth’s oldest university college with the support of the European Union Centre for Global Affairs at Adelaide University as well. – said Brenda Lee.

The Ladies of Latin Jazz will present an evening of passion and elegance, celebrating timeless Latin jazz classics such as “ The Girl from Ipanema”, “Besame Mucho”, “La Vie en Rose” and “Autumn Leaves” – performed in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese – from Brazil and from Malacca. The concert will also feature the legendary guitarist Ray Walker, saxophonist/flautist Paul Millard and drummer Chris Tarr. Together on stage they will invite the audiences to sway and immerse their senses in the enchanting and sultry rhythms of Latin Jazz – Samba, Bossa Nova, Bolero, Swing, Salsa and Montuno.

Perth’s very own Ladies of Latin Jazz have been delighting audiences worldwide. Brenda has performed in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, New York and Canada. Juliana Areias, known as the “Bossa NovaBaby”, was recently featured as the “Changing Face of Australian Music” on ABC Radio National. Juliana’s career includes performances at Montreux Jazz Festival, Sydney Opera House, Ronnie Scott’s of London, Auckland Festival, Perth International Jazz Festival, Kings Park Festival, and at Darling Harbour for over 30,000 people.

The night is also an exclusive opportunity to LIVE experience “Samba de gafieira” – an elegant and fun samba partner dance style originated in the 1940′s in Rio, created from an unique combination of Samba, Tango, Swing and other dance genre styles – that has established its own identity, allowing the dancers to express grace, playfulness, intimacy and strength in a different art form.